Sunday, 12 February 2012

Verse novels

Whenever I do workshops especially in the senior primary and secondary level of schools I ask 'Who knows what a verse novel is?' Hmm blank, puzzled stares.

Yet when I read the first pages of Ratwhiskers and Me and set the scene, the audience realises how easy a verse novel is to devour. Is poetry that off-putting?

The way the lines are arranged, short and to the point require a new way of reading- well perhaps.

Recently I came across a link where Kate Deller-Evans of Flinders University discusses the verse novel- 'Star Jumps' and Karen Hesse's 'Out of the dust'.

Amazing. I love Karen Hesse's work.

Here is the link to that article. I am thrilled for my work to be discussed within the genre of verse novel and also thrilled to have literary projection power from the 2010 Prime Minister's Literary awards.

I love the spareness yet richness a verse novel format gives to the narrative and although it's certainly not a popular genre I believe it has such power waiting to be ignited.